Her Dark Wings
by DarkAres
Summary: It was odd that an entire life could be altered in a single day. Vika learned that the hard way. One-shot based on Vika's past. Radiant Dawn


**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly, I do not own Fire Emblem...yet.

_I started writing this on a whim one day in January after playing Radiant Dawn. I didn't finish it though; in fact, I didn't get around to working on it until today._

_Vika, like all RD-exclusive characters, lacked character development through the famous Fire Emblem support convesations. However, while I was fine with that for most characters, I was very drawn to Vika. A female raven in the Laguz Emancipation Army just seemed cool._

_To attempt justice, I wrote a bit of a backstory for her. It probably would have been the first Vika-centred fic on the site too if I had posted a few days earlier, but it looks like I was beat to the punch (so close!). Hopefully this means Vika will get more fics._

_Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, as I definitely enjoyed writing it. Comments are appreciated._

_And I am actually working on A Hero's Blood as well, believe it or not. I'm just...slow with the next chapter. Damn Brawl and school._

* * *

The mountains of Begnion were known to be a winter paradise. That fateful day two years ago was the perfect illustration of this: it was as if the only colour nature provided was white. The snow was piled up nearly a foot, yet it was soft and somehow soothing. The temperature was also strangely mild for this time of the year, especially here.

Still, she had grown up on the warm islands of Kilvas. The landscape was beautiful, but she was too damn cold to care right now. A tank top and capris in winter will do that to you. Most people would realize this after travelling a week into the mountains of Begnion. Vika, however, was not "most people".

Her unkempt hair was covered in a layer of white as she continued to wait for Nik. It was hard to tell why he had brought her to the mountains, but it was hard enough for Vika to understand her boyfriend at all. Maybe it was just in a raven's nature to be guarded; she hadn't been completely open after all. And yet Vika trusted more than she had trusted anyone in the world.

The two had been friends for as long as she could remember in their hometown. They shared a love of battle, which was rare amongst small town ravens. True, Laguz of all types were prone to roughhousing as children, but ravens weren't generally natural fighters; they had relied on speed and thievery in most of their battles. The raven king Naesala was a prime example of this, though he had entered the Mad King's War himself against Daein.

Now coming out of their "teens", as the ravens would call it, they continued to meet regularly for duels. Despite the fact that many believed the teenaged birds were simply using "we're going to a duel" as an alibi for something else, Vika and Nik truly were honing their battle skills. At least, most of the time they were.

Why was it so odd for Laguz to enjoy fighting at this age? Sure, the dragons didn't battle, but they might as well be dead to Vika. Standing by why Kilvas was under Beorc control was inexcusable considering the power they held. Even the Beorc loved fighting, though they required more than just their bodies to do so. Or at least she had been told, as Vika had never met a Beorc herself. No one she knew had.

"_What strange creatures they must be." _Vika thought, flapping her wings to thrown the snow off.

Everybody knew the story of the Beorc; strange, weak creatures who lacked the power of a strong body. And yet they had taken control of the Laguz nearly all over Tellius, harnessing their minds to use the magic arts. Some of them even used metals as extensions of their bodies, both for defence and offense. Without needing to shift forms, they managed to capture Laguz in their weakened states. They were nothing but cowards. Dangerous cowards.

"Where is he?"Vika exclaimed aloud, shaking her head frantically. Her dark hair was revealed under the snow, just as untidy as always. Not only was it time saving to leave it like that, but others admit that it just looked better that way. "He knows I hate waiting. I wonder if I should just ditch him..."

Shielding her eyes from the sun (which was doing _nothing _to warm the stupid air), Vika scanned the skies. Not a single raven obstructed her view. Only the strange, smaller birds that lived in Beorc lands 

flew by, and they barely cast a shadow. The Beorc lands were so strange. Even here, she could make out a few of the massive "villas" the richer Beorc lived in.

"_Those Beorc would never survive without metal." _Vika realized. _"But even if we had the upper hand, we would never enslave them. Well, maybe King Naesala would..."_

Her instinct suddenly kicked in, and Vika rolled to the left. Transforming into her true raven form, she shot towards the large raven that had just flown by, digging her talons into his left leg.

"So first you make me wait, which you know I _hate,_" Vika growled, tightening her talons around the attacker's leg, "And then you think you can ambush me? Nice try, Nik."

Swinging his wings against her chest, Nik released himself from Vika's grip and flew up a few meters before diving at her.

"That old trick?" she laughed. "Fine, I'll match you."

Vika lifted herself just high enough to cause Nik to miss, than dropped down on him with her full weight. Or so she had planned.

"Kyaaa!"

Floating upside-down, Nik clutched both of Vika's talons with one of his and slashed at her with his beak. Pushing her legs out of his clutch, she continued to drop down on him and shoved him into the snow.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." he laughed, shifting back into his human form. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Yeah, you say that now that I kicked your ass." Vika giggled, following his cue and shifting to human form. "I can't believe you tried to hit me when I was in this form."

"Well you said I couldn't defeat you no matter what, right?" he accused, wrapping his arms around her. "I was just proving you wrong."

Vika made a sour face and smacked Nik lightly on the head, getting a "hey!" as her response.

"And yet you still lost." she grinned.

"Well of course. I was going easy on you."

"Of course you were." Vika said sarcastically, noticing his hands on her back. "Anyways, get your hands off me now."

Nik, frowned, hesitant to agree. So Vika took matters into her own hands. Beginning to flap her wings, she purposely took longer than needed (and blew some snow into his face) before lifting herself off him. Nik, meanwhile, flipped to his feet without budging his wings, though he now had bruised hands.

"I told you to move your hands." Vika said matter-of-factly. "You should have listened to me."

"You're going to be showing off all day because of this, aren't you?"

"Oh, you can count on it."

Nik threw back his dark hair, nearly as untidy as Vika's. Many believed that they were friends because neither of them ever combed their hair. And some believed they were siblings.

No one who said that to their face had escaped without a few bruises.

"So, where are we off to?" Nik asked, wiping the snow off his outfit. A green t-shirt and dark purple jeans were revealed under the white stuff.

"Well...I would think you know, since you brought me here." Vika replied, still floating just inches off the ground. The snow had really started to freeze her toes, especially since she wore sandals.

"True, true." Nik answered, joining her in the air. "I just wanted to make sure you were listening. Now then, I have something to show you."

Shifting back into his raven form (which made Vika wonder he had de-transformed in the first place), he motioned for her to follow as he flew off into the sky. She was soon as his side, shifted and admiring the landscape below. It looked so nice when she wasn't freezing.

"So...why do you think I brought you here?" Nik asked, slowing down momentarily.

""Hopefully it wasn't for the weather." she grinned. "Honestly, I think you're leading me to some Beorc."

"Beorc?" he exclaimed, glaring at her. "Why do you have to be like that?"

Vika was taken back, almost puzzled. "Like what?"

Nik's face changed to a smile. "So damn perceptive. Can't you let me surprise you once in a while?"

Vika turned from confusion to astonishment, and than pure joy. Shifting temporarily into human form, she rushed Nik and hugged him, pulling him down.

"Nik, you are amazing!" she exclaimed, tightening her embrace for a second before letting go.

"Alright, alright. You might want to transform again; you know how Beorc can be." he grinned. "Or at least you will soon."

A few minutes, Vika caught sight of some figures on the ground. There were at least fifty of them, although there was no villa nearby for them to rest in. The scent of steel rose up, almost overpowering the ravens.

"Looks like a division of their army. Or at least that's what it smells like." Nik explained. "But there are no archers or dracoknights, so we should be safe. Just don't get too low."

"Got it." Vika nodded, slowing her pace and beginning a wide circle over the army.

"_So this is what Beorc look like. No wings, no tails...how eerie." _

The two ravens continued to circle the army for a few minutes, taking in the site. This would make one hell of a story when they get back; they would be the first ones from their village to see Beorc. Heroes even. Well, maybe "heroes" was a stretch, but famous nonetheless.

"Alright, so shall we head back? You know how these Beorc can be." Nik asked, stopping his circling.

"...yeah, I guess that's good enough. And since it doesn't seem so dangerous, maybe we can even come back some time." Vika answered, stopping beside him. "So...race you home?"

Before Nik could answer with the inevitable "just try and catch me", he was interrupted by shouts from below. They had been spotted.

"Yeah, let's move." he said, and began to race ahead of her when he was nicked by a javelin.

Turning, the ravens saw a small group of female Beorc aboard their pegasi. It looked like the some Pegasus Knights were scouting, and found some unexpected prey.

"Sub-humans!" one of them shouted, pointing her lance at the ravens. "How dare you enter our territory!"

"Well lucky for you, we were just leaving." Vika replied.

"Do you really think you can escape?" another Pegasus Knight laughed sarcastically, brandishing a sword in her free hand. "Formation C! Let's go people!"

The ten Pegasus Knights began to circle the ravens, each one holding a javelin with a chain on the end. They all threw their javelins at the same time, but the ravens used their superior speed to duck under them. With a quick glance to Nik, Vika charged alongside him at one of the Pegasus Knights.

She flew in at point blank, but before the Begnion soldier could react, Nik had swept under her Pegasus and torn through its stomach. As the soldier fell to her death, the ravens blazed forward with Begnion on their tail.

"We need to get away from their base and then take these Pegasus Knights out." Nik planned, flapping quickly yet gracefully.

"Sounds like a plan." Vika concurred.

The ravens proved themselves to be too quick for the Begnion riders, but Beorc weren't well known for their physical abilities. They were known for their brains.

Thick clouds swept by Vika as she noticed the knights behind her starting to retire. In fact, only two were still chasing the ravens. Nik noticed this as well, and came to a sudden stop.

The Pegasus Knights were caught off guard as Vika and Nik tore through them, effectively ending their little chase.

"Beorc are...weak." Nik grinned. "They couldn't do anything without those flying horses."

"You must not know of our wyverns."

Nik turned to see the source of the voice, and horror washed over him. No less than thirty Beorc, all mounted on flying, lizard-like creatures. And they were blocking the path back to Kilvas.

"Look, did you _see _what we did to those other Beorc?" Vika sighed. "Seriously, just leave-"

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed many of the wyverns had two people riding them. And most of the Beorc were wielding bows and arrows.

"I thought those weapons were only used by ground troops." she half-asked Nik.

"Oh, that's true. Regarding the army," one of the Beorc answered, grinning. "But we don't work for the Begnion army. We're Senator Iori's bodyguards. And I think he would be quite interested in some...souvenirs."

"You Beorc might be smart, but we rule the skies." Nik shouted back. "Maybe we need to teach you that."

"For Senator Iori!" the wyvern riders shouted, loading their bows.

Nik shot upwards into the sky while Vika flew straight down, both avoiding the first rain of arrows. Before the archers could reload, Nik made a pass at them and knocked a few off their mounts before being struck by an axe.

"You didn't think we would come with only bows did you?" the attacker laughed, lifting his axe for a second swing. He never got it; Nik tore his arm off.

A few wyverns went straight for Vika, but she was fast even by Kilvas standards. Weaving between their axes and lances, she managed to pick off a few archers and peck through a wyvern's wing. A lance scratching her face reminded her that there were still a lot more Beorc to fight off.

After another hit-and-run attack, both ravens regrouped. It would be impossible for them to defeat all these wyvern riders; they had to push through them.

"You go first, and I'll distract them." Nik whispered.

"What, you're going to be a hero and still let the girl go first?" Vika smirked. "Although hero's don't usually put the girl in danger."

"And the girl doesn't usually beat up the hero."

"Ah! You admit I won!"

"Shut...let's settle that later."

"What are those sub-humans blathering about?" the Beorc commander exclaimed. "Get them already! Fire the arrows!"

Dodging the assault with a barrel roll, Vika darted straight towards the pack, catching them completely off guard. A few axes just missed her as she weaved, and a few lances found their mark on her torso, but she made it through relatively unharmed. Flying out barely in view of the Beorc (or so she assumed, as Beorc apparently had bad eyes), she watched Nik charge the platoon, hoping her presence would distract the Beorc.

It didn't.

Nik almost made it through the pack, but a javelin wrapped around one of his talons and stopped him in mid-flight. Of course, a trapped raven is prone to violence, as a decapitated Beorc soon discovered. Yet the others had crowded around him, mercilessly stabbing their lances. Nik tried to fly up and out of harm's way but was struck with an arrow in his right wing.

"You idiot! You shot his wing! Now he's useless to Senator Iori!" the commander barked. "Just kill this filth."

"Nik!" Vika exclaimed, charging back to her boyfriend's aid.

But all the speed in the world wouldn't have helped her.

With his wing paralyzed, Nik could only watch as waves of metallic weapons swept over him.

Hurting.

Piercing.

Murdering.

"NIK!"

And in that instant, he was gone.

How something could exist only to disappear a second later had never truly made sense to Vika. Months ago, they had refused to speak to each other again after an argument. It was just weeks ago they had made up. Only hours ago, she had been joking around with Nik as they flew through the skies. And one minute ago, he told her he was right behind her. Now he was falling, a lifeless black spec against the sky.

All because these Beorc believed they shouldn't be trespassing on their land. But since when was it _their _land truly? All of the land belonged to the Goddess Ashera, divided between her followers for simplicity. So that the Beorc didn't have to live with "beasts" like her, and she with "humans" like them.

They called her a beast? Could they truly say they weren't beasts, having killed another living being for something so trivial? The ravens of Kilvas never killed trespassers, even if they were Beorc. Despite their reputation, they tended to avoid battle.

But this was not something Vika could ignore, especially after seeing what these Beorc truly were; nothing but murderers.

Dead murderers.

Vika went straight for the commander, jabbing her beak into the back of his head. His helmet shattered when faced with her force, and the Beorc fell off his steed, falling to his death. Alongside the raven he had murdered.

"Seize h-!" one of the knights shouted, stopping mid-sentence as Vika clamped his tongue with her talons and ripped it out.

More lances shot through her, but Vika continued to fight, ripping through throats and heads. Two wyvern riders managed to wrap chained javelins around her wings, binding them. Trying to flap her wings quickly to break them, the raven realized she had used up a lot of energy in escaping the Pegasus Knights earlier. She still refused to give up, but the Beorc wouldn't wait around.

Taking out their javelins, they circled and bound Vika, causing her to shift back into her human form. One of the unarmed Beorc flew up to her, placing his hand on her cheek.

"You make a good-looking Beorc, but..."

He slapped her hard across the face, causing her world to spin.

"...you're nothing but a sub-human. You shouldn't have killed the commander. I would have been nicer."

The wyvern riders holding the chains began to move further apart, stretching Vika's wings. She spit in the Beorc's face, who winced and wiped it off. Vika was about to say something when she was slapped again. Hard.

The last thing she saw was Nik fall out of sight. Then everything went black.

* * *

Two years had passed since than. Exactly two years today, which made the memories stronger than ever.

Vika had been taken into custody by the Beorc fighters and met their leader; Senator Iori. And just as she expected from the leader of these Beorc murderers, he was merciless.

The mountains were now more hideous than ever to Vika; they marked the barrier between Kilvas and her new prison. It would have been difficult enough for her to escape in her transformed state, but these Beorc weren't about to take that change.

And that was when she first discovered the danger of the Beorc mind.

Through a crude mix of substances, they had created a sort of liquid that drained Vika's energy, and they made sure to inject it to her every morning. With it, she could still transform into her full raven state, but kept only a fraction of her power. They probably would have outright killed her for trespassing if they hadn't found her raven powers helpful. Just as they killed Nik.

Most of the time she was held in a cage atop a tall room, accessible by a single ladder. It was situated next to a window that showed her the outside world. The world she used to live in. Senator Iori said it she was kept near the window to keep her spirits up. Yet all it did was remind her of what she lost.

The rest of the time, she was made to do manual labour, where she met many others like her. Or rather, other Laguz slaves, all of whom were of Gallia's beast tribe. They were much stronger than her, but none possessed her speed or flying abilities, so Vika was often called upon. And she was forced through a different kind of manual labour at night.

It never seized to amaze her how disgusting the Beorc could truly be.

Today, however, she had yet to be called on. Sitting with her hands chained within her cage, Vika returned from her thoughts to reality. A very quiet reality.

Most of the time, a Beorc would have checked in on her by now, even if they didn't need her to work just yet. The almost complete silence of the hall suggested that wouldn't happen today.

Vika forced herself to look out the window; as much as it hurt, she felt she needed to. Maybe she was trying to get over Nik's death, or perhaps she was planning an escape. Or she may simply have wanted to watch the snow fall endlessly; she never quite knew _why _she looked outside.

A multitude of figures in the distance was probably why Vika looked today.

Some were airborne, and she recognized their silhouettes as those pegasus knight that made up Iori's army. The other silhouettes were definitely those of beast Laguz.

A flash of light came from one of the Beorc figures, yet it was aimed at a pegasus. The beast Laguz were tearing through the grounded Beorc with ease.

"_A retaliation? But how did they even get that far outside?" _

And than it hit her; this wasn't the retaliation of Senator Iori's slaves.

This was the Laguz Emancipation Army.

* * *

"Who?" she asked, setting down the crate in her talons.

The tiger looked at before continuing to push his own crate down the hall. Even if they hadn't been drugged, the overwhelming stench of steel from the crates would have made it hard for the Beast Laguz to fight.

"The Laguz Emancipation Army. It's an army of Beast Laguz who go around freeing Laguz slaves from these wretched creatures." he continued.

"And you think they'll come for us?" Vika asked.

"They will. We just have to wait for them."

"I've never been very good at waiting for people who don't come."

The tiger smiled half-heartedly, but even that was a rare sight for Vika these days.

"And the strangest part is their leader." he said as the two Laguz began their trek back to the supplies they needed to move.

Countless crates full of weapons lay waiting for them. It was almost ironic that they were helping the Beorc punish them by moving these supplies.

"Oh? Do tell."

"They say it's a Beorc child trained in magic."

"A Beorc leads the army of Beorc?" Vika asked, the sarcasm obvious in her voice. She may have lost her optimism in this prison, but not her sarcasm.

"It's true! I was taken from the outside world after you, and I've heard things."

"Hm...something like that would give optimism to us Laguz, wouldn't it?" she smirked. "Sounds like a lie that's supposed to give us motivation. The Beorc probably made that up."

"I agree they would do that, but I know the army is real."

"And what makes you say that?"

Shifting back into his human form, the tiger turned to her with a small object in his hands. Taking it from him, Vika saw that it was a small figuring of the Goddess Ashera, carved with amazing detail.

"Because the Goddess Ashera would not abandon us like this."

* * *

The Laguz were closer now, leaving the corpses of the Pegasus Riders behind. And there was indeed a small Beorc leading them, his cloak glowing like the fire he cast. They had broken off into multiple directions, no doubt to split the enemy forces.

Arrows began to rain down on the beasts, but most still prevailed. The Beorc and one tiger in particular had almost reached the manor's gates before Vika's room was invaded.

She was struck in her right wing by an arrow before she knew what happened. The familiar sensation told her it was the regular drug.

"Don't think you can escape just because we have some other sub-humans to take care of." one of the Beorc cursed, pointing his lance at Vika.

The two Beorc beside him made their way to her cage. Unsheathing their swords, they held them to Vika's neck.

"Move and you're dead."

Unable to see the window, Vika had no idea how the battle was faring. But the sounds of battle had grown closer, and most of the screams were certainly not Laguz.

A yell of "SUB HUMAN!" came from down the hall before it was lit up with fire and the sound of growling.

The Beorc and a green tiger burst through the doors of her room, yet stopped in their tracks when they saw Vika.

"A raven?" the boy asked, his battle lust changing to awe.

A soldier attempted to take advantage of the situation, but found his head in the tiger's mouth. Shattering his neck, the tiger tossed the Beorc aside.

"Make one mover and we kill her." a swordsman said, lifting his blade slightly.

Of course this would happen to her. Some amazing rescue attempt and she would get left behind. Now the two would leave, and she would...

"Holy-!"

Both Beorc beside her burst into flames, their swords striking the ground.

"Who do they think we are?" the boy smiled, making his up the ladder.

"Don't let your guard down, little one." the tiger responded, watching the door for intruders.

Vika shrank away as the boy opened the cage, clutching the figurine of Ashera. She had kept it as a memento, a sign of what little hope she still had. Vika had witnessed the boy save her, but she was still afraid of him. All the Beorc she had known had tried to use her; how could she tell if he was different?

"I'm not good with introductions, " the boy said, "Plus we're in sort of a hurry. Can you move?"

Vika slowly nodded, gaining a smile from the boy. The first real smile she had seen since Nik's.

"Alright, than we have to get out of here. By the way, I'm Tormod, and that's Muarim."

"Little one, our allies are near." Muarim cut in.

Tormod jumped down from the ladder with remarkable strength for a Beorc. Half-crawling, Vika made her way out of the cage and followed his example. Her legs weren't as strong right now (especially in her human form), but her wings allowed her to reach the ground safely.

That's where she had trouble.

She almost collapsed before she was caught. Dazed from her drugging, it took her a few seconds to realize it was Tormod who saved her.

And in another few seconds, Muarim was lost among countless Beast Laguz. She recognized the tiger that had told her of the Laguz Emancipation Army, but avoided eye contact. Vika had her pride; she wouldn't let that tiger rub this in.

"Alright, let's find the leader of these wimps. Remember, we need to bring him in alive." Tormod grinned.

The sheer power of the army was incredible. Even the fifty Laguz that had accompanies Tormod proved more than enough to decimate Senator Iori's forces. Vika soon regained the strength to transform but followed along in human form. Her strength was still drained, as were the freed slaves.

Yet soon enough, Tormod had cornered Senator Iori himself.

"Please child, why are you doing this?" the senator cowered. "We should be fighting these sub-humans together."

Walking very calmly, Tormod stopped in front of the Iori. And punched him across the face.

"Sub-humans, eh? That's what we should call scum like you." Tormod shouted. "Now you're coming with me to the apostle."

"This is so surreal." Vika said to herself, watching the man she had hated fall to the ground.

"No one should be held like this." Muarim replied, catching the raven off guard.

"Actually, I meant the hum-er...Tormod."

"He was raised by Laguz, so he fights to help us."

"A Beorc raised by Laguz?"

"He is truly an example to show the unity of our races. Just as you have seen good and evil Laguz, there are good and evil Beorc. This is something Tellius must learn. After all, we are all equally made by the Goddess Ashera."

Equal. That's what she had thought once too. But things were different than. So many things were different. Could she really return to Kilvas knowing firsthand what fellow Laguz went through?

"I need to talk to your boss." Vika said, flying towards Tormod.

Senator Iori was unconscious now, being moved by Tormod (and some tigers). Flapping above him for a few seconds, Vika hesitantly landed.

"Uh...boss?" she asked.

He looked up at her, still dragging Iori by his collar.

"Oh, the raven. I thought you didn't like me. And you can call me Tormod." he grinned.

Was he being sarcastic? She couldn't tell right now.

"I'm not used to a Beorc being...nice. And my name is Vika."

"It's alright. Most slaves are scared after being saved anyways."

"Do you think...I could join your army?"

Tormod stopped, and Senator Iori fell from his grip. Still, the tigers had him, and he continued to be dragged away.

"That'd be nice, but don't want to go home or something?"

"I would, but not to stay." Vika replied. "I had...everything taken from me because of slavery. I don't want anyone else to have to go through that."

"Well then, we'd love to have you on our side Vika."

* * *

_So...yeah. The second half isn't as good as the first half, sorry about that. _

_I think we all figured Vika was a former slave, but her personality may have differed in your minds. Nontheless, I hope you liked it and that you comment. And maybe include Vika more often in your FE fics. She certainly deserves it._


End file.
